Songbird
by I'veGottaGay
Summary: Santana and Brittany are best friends through thick and thin, but Santana develops feelings for the beautiful blonde and has to figure out how to get the Dutch girl to love her back. T for later chapters.
1. The First Day

Santana met Brittany when they were nine.

It was the first day of fourth grade and Santana walked in, her hands shaking. She was nervous. She had gone to lower school at another school, but that was different. It had been much smaller and close to her home, so she had always felt like if something went wrong, her mom was right there to pick her up. This new school, Lima Elementary School, was miles away from her house. She felt small and alone.

Brittany saw the little girl walk in looking nervous and she gave her a friendly wave. The girl waved back shyly and headed towards Brittany. Brittany was already playing with Quinn, her friend since preschool.

"Quinn," Brittany said, nudging her friend.

"Yes?" she asked, looking up from her crayons. She had been drawing a picture of her family.

"That girl's gonna' play with us."

"Okay," Quinn said, glad to have another friend. The other little girl made her way over to Quinn and Brittany. Quinn noticed how scared she looked.

"Hi. I'm Quinn," she said.

"And I'm Brittany," Brittany chimed in.

"I'm Santana," the little girl mumbled. Brittany smiled at her amiably. She decided that Santana was a pretty name.

"Do you want to color with me and Quinn?" Brittany asked. Santana's eyes widened. She loved coloring.

"Sure!" she agreed excitedly. She sat down and picked up a yellow crayon and a piece of paper. She wasn't sure what she wanted to draw yet, but she was in a happy mood and yellow seemed fitting.

Brittany watched Santana stare at her paper for a moment. Did she not know how to draw? Then Santana looked up at her and met her eyes, smiling. Santana probably knew how to draw.

"What are you drawing?" she asked Brittany.

"A duck," Brittany stated simply.

"A duck?" Brittany nodded enthusiastically. Santana giggled and nodded, watching Brittany color her duck's beak orange.

Brittany was just starting her duck's… nose? Snout? Brittany didn't know what it was called, but that's what she was drawing when she felt the orange crayon snatched out of her hand.

"Hey!" she cried, jumping up.

"Whatcha' drawing? A duck? Ducks are for _losers_!" a boy sneered at her, holding her crayon over his head. He had short, dark, curly hair and a mean scowl on his face. Brittany looked up at her crayon sadly. She didn't understand why that boy took her crayon. She started to cry.

Santana saw the boy holding Brittany's crayon above him and something snapped inside of her.

"Give her back the crayon!" Santana yelled at the boy. Quinn's eyes widened. The boy was twice as big as Santana.

"Or what?" the boy scoffed.

"Give her back the crayon before I punch a hole in your ugly face, Pinocchio!" (For a nine year-old, this was quite a tirade)

Brittany heard Santana yelling and looked up. The boy was looking slightly uncertain and he shot Santana a nervous glance. Brittany was so lucky to have a friend like Santana. The boy took a step backwards.

"Fine," he grumbled. "I didn't want your stupid crayon anyways!" He threw the crayon down at his feet where it broke in two, then turned to run away. He knew it broke, and he knew he wasn't going to get away, but he tried.

"Come. Back. Here." Santana said in a deadly calm voice. The boy froze, terrified for the first time.

Quinn's eyebrows raised at Santana's tone.

Santana took in the ruined crayon on the floor and Brittany's quivering lip in a heartbeat. That boy was gonna' pay for that. She stepped towards him threateningly, her face a dangerous frown.

Quinn watched the scene unfold in front of her and her eyebrows rose even higher. Santana was… vicious.

_Slap!_

Quinn's eyebrows just about disappeared into her hair.

Brittany's lip stopped quivering and instead she stared with wonder at the reddening mark on the boy's face. His eyes were wide and he was staring at Santana. Brittany thought he looked sort of like a bug. A big, brown bug.

Santana was seeing red. She didn't even notice the expressions of her two friends. She took another step towards the boy and grabbed the front of his shirt.

"Hey! You guys! Come on! It's the first day of school!" a teacher cried out, running towards the pair. Santana's stomach dropped. She was going to get sent home. It was only the first day of school. Santana got herself ready for the scolding she knew she was no doubt about to receive.

"Santana, honey. What have you done?" Santana looked at the bright red mark on the boy's left cheek and her lower lip jutted out. She was going to get in trouble for sticking up for her new friend.

"It was my fault." Santana's jaw dropped. The boy was standing with his head down and the tip of his shoe digging into the ground.

"What?" the teacher asked gently. Brittany watched in wonder as the boy confessed what had happened.

"I stole that girl's crayon," he said, pointing at Brittany. Santana was shocked. This wasn't what she had expected. "Then I threw it on the ground and it broke. That girl was helping her friend."

The boy spoke quietly and ashamedly. Quinn was impressed. The teacher was clearly confused but she gave the two children a gentle smile.

"Alright, well please try to get along. We have a whole year together, you know." Then she walked off to try and separate a wailing brown haired girl from her father. Quinn turned back to her drawing.

Brittany bounced over to Santana and tackled her in a hug.

"Thanks Sanny!" she giggled. Santana smiled and wrapped her arms around her friend. She was proud of herself.

"I'll always stick up for you," she promised Brittany, holding out her pinky. Brittany stared at it, wide-eyed. She'd seen people do this before. It was called a 'pinky promise'. She took Santana's pinky. Santana grinned at her and made no move to release her pinky, so Brittany left it like that.

"It's Puck," a voice from behind Santana said softly. Santana whirled around, still holding onto Brittany's pinky. "Puck, not Pinocchio." Santana giggled softly.

"Okay, Puck. I'm Santana and that's Brittany." Brittany waved, smiling brightly. Puck nodded, his cheeks pink.

"Hi Brittany. Sorry about your crayon. I just wanted to… I don't know," he mumbled. Santana considered him for a moment.

"We can be friends if you won't be mean to us anymore," Santana heard Brittany say. Puck nodded.

"Cool," Puck said. Santana regarded him with narrowed eyes for a minute, then decided that he wasn't all that bad. She smirked at him and he returned it. Santana then turned back to her drawing.


	2. Best Friends Forever

"Santana! Pay attention, please." Santana rolled her eyes and turned her attention to the words on the board that she had learned when she was two. Brittany sat to her right, doodling on her paper.

"Brittany," Mr. Gomez called. Brittany's head shot up. "How do you say blue?" Brittany's eyebrows furrowed and she stared down at the unicorns and rainbows drawn on her paper.

"Um…" she mumbled quietly.

"Azul," Santana whispered in her ear. Brittany grinned widely and looked back up to Mr. Gomez.

"Azul," she stated confidently. She had no doubt about her friend's Spanish abilities. Santana was fluent. The teacher looked suspiciously at Santana for a moment, then turned back to the board.

"That's right. Azul." Brittany giggled and turned to Santana. Santana smirked back, happy to help the bubbly blonde. They had only known each other for a few weeks, but they'd become friends quickly. Nine year-olds were quick to make friends, and Brittany was the friendliest nine year-old alive.

Spanish class was hard. Brittany couldn't grasp all of the strange words. Santana was really good at Spanish though. She had said that it was her first language. Brittany felt herself drifting away, out the window. Her thoughts flew further out, to the clouds, to the sky, to space…

"Britt," Santana nudged Brittany gently. The girl's mind had wandered again and Santana didn't want her to get in trouble.

Brittany felt Santana tap her gently and she looked up just in time for the teacher to meet her eyes.

"Thanks San," Brittany murmured, looking back down at her paper and frowning confusedly.

Santana watched her friend's face screw up in concentration. Then frustration took over and Brittany leaned back and sighed. Santana smiled and turned to her friend, trying to comfort her.

"Don't worry, you'll get it." Brittany was despondent. Spanish just didn't make sense. Then the bell rang and the teacher started cleaning the board. Brittany was excited. Recess was her favorite part of the day. There were no confusing words or big numbers. Just playing and fun.

"What do you want to do for recess, Brittany?" Santana asked her friend. Brittany shrugged. Santana smiled at her. Then she reached over to her friend, holding out her tiny little pinky.

Brittany took Santana's pinky. It had become like holding hands or linking arms for them. Something that made them special and different and the bestest friends in the whole wide world.

Puck stood outside the door, waiting for Santana and Brittany to come out so that they could play kickball. The guys let Santana play because she was cool, and they let Brittany play because she was pretty. They were the only girls that were allowed to play. He saw her and Brittany coming out together, as usual, pinkies linked.

"Retard," a boy coughed. Santana froze. Was the boy talking about Brittany? That was mean. Santana got ready to take down the boy. He was kind of big, but he couldn't talk about Brittany like that and get away with it.

Brittany felt Santana stop next to her and she stopped too, swinging her and Santana's interlocked fingers back and forth between them.

Puck felt anger bubble up in him and he turned to Bryce, the boy who had spoken. He growled,

"Take it back." Bryce looked confused.

"Come on Puck, that girls so stupid!" he argued. Santana's little fists balled up and she tensed all of her muscles, but she didn't need to do anything.

Brittany saw Puck tackle the other boy… Bryce? Brittany knew that Bryce had said something mean, but she didn't really understand. What she did understand, however, was that Puck was standing up for her against his friend.

Santana watched Puck punch Bryce repeatedly in the face.

"Take. It. Back!" he grunted, emphasizing his words with blows. Bryce covered his face, wailing,

"Okay! I'm sorry! She's not retarded!" Puck stood up, satisfied, dusting himself off. He turned to the girls.

Santana saw Puck stand up for Brittany and was fairly impressed. Standing up for Brittany was usually her thing.

Puck saw Santana giving him a look and shrugged.

"I like you guys. You're my friends. Friends don't let losers talk about their friends like that." Santana nodded. She saw Puck in a totally new light now. He would be a valuable friend to have with his size.

Brittany looked at Puck with admiration shining in her eyes and Puck felt himself puff up with pride. Then she took a few steps forward and threw her arms around his neck and hugged him.

"Thanks Puck!" Puck smiled at her softly and wrapped his arms around her waist and pulling her in.

"No problem, Britt." Santana felt a twinge in her stomach at the way Brittany looked at Puck. She shook it off.

"Come on, Britt," Santana said, trying to coax Brittany away from Puck. Brittany nodded and followed her, taking her hand again.

"Do you guys want to play kickball?" Puck asked. Santana thought for a minute, then nodded.

"Sure."

They played kickball until recess ended. Well, Santana and the boys played kickball while Brittany stood next to Santana and talked to her.

When recess ended and Santana was dusting her clothes off, Brittany bounced over to her, a big smile on her face.

"We're best friends, right San?" Santana nodded, giggling a little bit. She took the blonde girl's pinky.

"Best friends _forever_," she confirmed.


	3. Something New

"Come on, Britt," Santana urged. "We're going to be late!"

Brittany nodded and stepped out of her bathroom, her hair newly curled.

Santana's jaw dropped. Brittany looked awesome. She picked her jaw up off of the floor quickly, hoping Brittany had missed her astonishment.

Brittany giggled at the look on Santana's face and reached down for her sandals. She didn't mind being late to the party. Cool people were late to places anyways. That's what Santana said. And Santana wanted to be cool.

Santana grinned at her bubbly friend. She couldn't wait to go the party and show off how hot Brittany had gotten over the summer. She had always been pretty, but now she was a goddess with her long, toned, dancer's legs, flowing blonde hair, dazzling smile, and strikingly blue eyes.

Brittany hadn't been to a party in a long time. She had spent the entire summer in Colorado with her family. She also hadn't seen Santana in a while. She had missed her bestest friend in the world.

"Okay, let's go," Brittany said, finally pulling her sandals on. Santana couldn't help but stare at her legs and ass in those white Daisy Dukes as Brittany walked out. She was just so freaking hot.

Brittany walked to her brand new car, about to slide into the driver's seat, when Santana held out her hand for the key. Brittany knew Santana was a much better driver than she was. After all, she had been driving for much longer.

Santana shook her head at the Dutch girl, smiling, and took the keys from her outstretched hand.

"Let's do it," she said, starting up the car.

"Do what?" Brittany asked, adorably clueless as usual. Santana shook her head again, that silly grin still plastered on her face.

"Nothing Britt. Let's just go to the party." Brittany nodded, bubbly again, and they drove out of Brittany's driveway to their first party as tenth graders.

Santana sat on a stool, drinking beer from a cup some senior had gotten her. She had no idea where Brittany had gone. Her eyes scanned the crowd, searching worriedly for her best friend. She hoped that Brittany wasn't off with some senior getting talked into doing something she didn't understand.

Brittany felt a boy come up behind her, putting his hands on her hips and pulling her towards him. She didn't really want to dance with him, but she didn't want to hurt his feelings by saying no, so she let him grind on her.

"Wanna get out of here?" the boy whispered in her ear. Brittany was confused. Why would she want to leave? She was having fun. When she hesitated, the boy grabbed her hand and pulled her along with him anyways.

"SPIN THE BOTTLE!" a voice shouted from the other side of the room. Santana sighed. She didn't really have anything else to do. Besides, maybe Brittany was over there.

"Let's play that!" Brittany said to the boy holding her hand. He looked at her for a minute, then nodded. He led her over to the small circle of people and sat down next to a few guys. They all looked at her approvingly, almost hungrily, then turned back to the game, awaiting their turns.

Santana sat down, watching the bottle spin. When she looked back up, she saw Brittany sitting on the other side of the circle. Relief filled her as she realized that her best friend wasn't off doing the deed with some random jock, but then it turned to anger when she saw the predatory looks her friend was attracting from some of the boys.

The bottle slowly spun to a stop.

"Santana?" Brittany asked, confused. Was she supposed to kiss Santana? She saw Santana look up at her, confusion on her face as well. Brittany shrugged and decided to just go with it.

Santana leaned forward confidently and pressed her lips against her friend's. Inside, she was overjoyed that Brittany had spun her instead of some meathead jock. She didn't want some guy's grimy paws all over Brittany.

Brittany kissed Santana deeply, feeling a bubbly feeling in her stomach. She chalked it up to the amount of liquor she'd had and just immersed herself in the kiss. She heard a boy wolf-whistle and she frowned against Santana's mouth.

Santana felt Brittany's lips move against hers into a frown and she pulled away, breathless. That had been the most mind-blowing experience ever. She loved the way Brittany's lips felt on hers and didn't know what to say.

Brittany sat back down as the guy next to her took his turn. She was still thinking about the way Santana tasted. The way Santana's lips had moved against her own. Santana was a good kisser.

Santana had to admit, Brittany was a _great_ kisser. She watched the bottle spin around again to land on… Brittany.

Brittany saw the bottle land on her and barely had time to register what that meant before the boy next to her grabbed her and mashed his lips against hers gracelessly. Brittany didn't find herself enjoying this kiss as much as she had the one with Santana. The boy smelled like nachos, he was too forceful with his tongue, and was grabbing her in places that she wasn't really comfortable with yet.

Santana watched that jock shove his tongue down Britt's throat with her fists clenched. Brittany looked so uncomfortable and helpless as that Lima loser groped her with his sweaty hands. Santana could've cheerfully ripped his head off for touching Brittany like that. She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Quinn, looking calm and collected as ever and shaking her head gently.

Quinn knew about Santana and Brittany. Or at least she knew how Santana felt about Brittany. She saw the way the muscles in Santana's neck tensed when she watched the boy making out with Brittany.

Brittany felt the boy pull away amid cheers and hoots from his friends. Brittany wasn't really having fun anymore. She looked over to Santana, hoping that she was thinking the same thing.

Quinn saw Brittany look over to Santana and nudged the Latina.

Santana's eyes connected with Brittany's and she saw the lost, confused look in them. She nodded slightly and stood.

"Bye," Quinn said quietly. Santana turned around as she stood and smiled a genuine smile at Quinn. Quinn smiled back, understanding that Santana needed to talk to her best friend now. Quinn couldn't help but wish she had a friend like that.

Brittany walked to Santana, reaching out for her best friend with a pinky. This was their sign that everything was alright. It meant that no matter what had happened that day, they were still on the same side.

Santana smiled at Brittany softly and took the proffered pinky in her own. Tan skin against pale. Then she headed outside with the slightly tipsy blonde, making sure Brittany didn't fall over.

Once they were in the car and driving back to Brittany's house, Brittany looked over at Santana.

"I didn't like when that boy kissed me," she mumbled. Santana was relieved, even though she'd already guessed that fact. "But," Brittany continued, causing Santana to raise her eyebrows. "I liked kissing you. You have soft lips and you're a good kisser." Santana smiled at the Dutch girl.

"You're a good kisser too, Britt," Brittany beamed at Santana, making her smile. Then she said something that surprised Santana, yet again.

"I'm glad that you were my first, Santana," Brittany said softly. Santana's eyes widened. Brittany had never kissed anyone before? Disappointment washed through her. She wished that Brittany had been her first kiss and not Puck under the bleachers after a football game. She smiled at Brittany anyways.

"Thanks," she said. Brittany was confused. Why would Santana thank her? Did she mean thanks for kissing her? Brittany opened her mouth to ask Santana, but decided that it wasn't that important.

"Bye Santana!" she said instead, because Santana had just pulled up to her house. She gave her a friend a quick hug, then darted out of the door.

Santana watched Brittany go, shaking her head slightly. What was she doing? She couldn't have a crush on her _female_ best friend. That was just unacceptable in a small town like Lima. Still sighing, she stepped out of Brittany's car and began the short walk home, thoughts of her blonde best friend on her mind.


	4. Why Him?

Santana tore through the hallways, furious. Everyone stepped out of her way, frightened. Quinn reached a hand out to her calmly and Santana turned to her.

"Auditorium. Now," she said menacingly, but her voice broke on the last word, betraying her.

Quinn simply nodded and followed her friend. Once they were in the auditorium, Santana broke down. Tears streamed down her face and her shoulders shook with sobs.

"Santana… What happened?" Quinn asked. She shook her head.

"B-Brittany," she gasped. Quinn nodded at her understandingly. Brittany was the only one who could make Santana feel like that. "Why is she… Why Artie?"

Quinn sighed and held Santana as she broke down. After a few long minutes of sniffling and sobbing, the tears finally stopped coming. Santana took a deep breath, then stood up suddenly.

"You know what? I'm over it." Quinn looked up at her, a disbelieving sigh coming from her lips.

Santana just couldn't keep Brittany out of her mind. She loved Britt's cute laugh, her blond hair, her sweet personality, and her piercing blue eyes. Not to mention how much of a ditz she could be. Seeing her sitting on Artie's lap and snuggling with him made Santana want to rip her eyeballs out and throw them at him.

"Santana," Quinn started. Santana shook her head.

"It's not worth it." Quinn's eyebrows furrowed, but Santana shrugged and turned away from her, letting the hurt show through on her face again. She felt Quinn's hand on her shoulder and turned back, her features hard.

Quinn saw the look in Santana's eyes and saw right through her. She also knew Santana well enough to not question her. Instead, she helped Santana to her feet again and walked with her to the bathroom. Santana reapplied her makeup and the two cheerleaders headed back out to be queen bitches again.

"Hey Santana!" Britt called cheerfully. She walked up to Quinn and Santana, pushing Artie in front of her. Quinn winced at Brittany's blissful ignorance. Santana shot daggers at Artie, then turned a pained smile towards Brittany.

"Hey Britt-Britt." Brittany noticed the pain etched in every line on Santana's face. Her eyebrows furrowed.

"Are you okay Santana?" Santana swallowed her pain for Brittany's sake and nodded slightly.

"Don't worry. I'm just sore from Cheerios' practice." Brittany gazed into Santana's eyes and knew she was lying, but she didn't want to press the Latina.

"Okay," she mumbled with an unsure glance.

Quinn looked from Brittany to Santana, then back to Brittany. She saw the confusion on Brittany's face and the hurt on Santana's. Neither was spectacular at hiding their emotions. Then she sighed.

"Come on Santana, we have English." Santana nodded slowly, then followed Quinn to their class.

Brittany watched Santana walk away, feeling even more confused than usual. She wasn't sure what was going on.

Artie glanced up at the blonde, thinking about Santana's fierce glare. Then Brittany started pushing him down the hall, towards their history classroom, and he tried to forget about the way Santana had looked at his girlfriend.

After class ended, Brittany sat in the passenger's side of Santana's car, wondering what she did wrong. She pressed her head against the glass of the window and sighed.

Santana shot a glance at Brittany, her breath fogging up the glass. Brittany's profile against the light background of falling snow outside made Santana's heart skip a beat. Santana turned back to the road, begging herself to forget about Brittany. She would only get her heart broken again.

"Santana," Britt started pleadingly. Santana felt her resolve waver. She couldn't resist her best friend.

"Brittany, I'm sorry for-" Santana's voice broke. Brittany looked at Santana, concern in her eyes.

"For being mean to Artie?" she asked. Santana nodded, swallowing. The look in Brittany's eyes made Santana want to smack herself. She should've known Brittany couldn't be spiteful. She didn't have a mean bone in her body.

Brittany saw Santana nod and couldn't help herself.

"Why did you do it?" Brittany saw Santana's eyes fill with tears. She automatically reached out to touch her best friend's shoulder. Santana jerked back and opened her mouth but no sound came out and Brittany didn't push. She didn't want Santana to close up. Santana finally spoke.

"Because, Britt. I-" her voice broke. Santana couldn't do it. She couldn't tell Brittany that she had a problem with her boyfriend. Brittany had Artie. She didn't want Santana. Santana didn't want to confuse Brittany more by throwing her feelings into the mix. Santana shook her head.

Why wouldn't Santana tell? Brittany was so confused. She didn't like seeing her best friend upset, though.

"San," Brittany started but just then, Santana pulled up next to her house.

"Bye Britt. I'll see you tomorrow." Brittany gave her friend a sad look, then stepped out of the car, into the snow. It was cold outside in the icy temperatures and it was cold inside her without Santana.

Santana watched Brittany head towards her house. She wanted to scream or cry or both. Everything just felt so wrong. Brittany was hers. Brittany was the little girl that she screamed at everyone for. Brittany was the girl who loved ducks and rainbows and unicorns and Disney princesses. Brittany was the girl who could pull Santana from her shell and make her smile the smile she only ever smiled for Brittany.

Brittany looked back at Santana and gave her a tentative, sad smile. Santana smiled a small smile back. Like always, Santana had waited until she was safe inside her house. Even when they weren't on the best terms. Santana had always been the strong one. She was always protecting Brittany and looking out for her. Santana meant the world to Brittany, and right now, her world was crashing down around her.

Santana saw Brittany close her door behind her. She could drive away now. Like she usually did. Not this time, though. This time, Santana waited outside of Brittany's house for another ten or fifteen minutes. She just couldn't bring herself to leave. Not when her and Brittany weren't on good terms. She kept waiting, hoping that maybe – just _maybe_ – Brittany would run out of her house into Santana's arms and say that she loved her. She held onto the ridiculous hope that maybe Brittany would choose her over Artie. When the house stayed still and silent, Santana swallowed and turned back to the road.

_I'll have to make it up to her tomorrow,_ Santana thought sadly. Then she put her car into gear and headed home.

Brittany's head sunk into her arms as she watched Santana drive away. She should've said something. She just didn't know what was wrong.


	5. Leave Her Alone

Santana arrived at school the next day ready to apologize. She never did this for anyone but Brittany. But Brittany being sad was like the sun going out. If anyone else made Brittany hurt, she would've knocked their lights out and gotten everyone to hate them. The fact that she was hurting Brittany killed her inside.

Brittany sat on Artie's lap, talking with Tina and Mike. She saw Santana arrive and sucked in a breath sharply.

"I, um, I gotta' go talk to Santana," Brittany whispered in Artie's ear.

Santana saw Brittany on Artie's lap and jealousy rose in her. She forced it down. She came to apologize. Then she saw Brittany lean over and whisper in Artie's ear and she wanted to smack him. She didn't have anything against Artie, really, but seeing him with Brittany made her hate him.

Brittany saw Santana's eyes widen, and Santana walked in the opposite direction. Brittany ran to catch up.

Artie watched his girlfriend chase after Santana and he couldn't help but breathe a small sigh.

"San," Santana heard Brittany say, sounding breathless. Santana turned around quickly, plastering a smile on her face.

"Hey Britt." Brittany looked at Santana, the same confusion from the night before bubbling up inside of her.

"San, what did I do?" Santana's breath caught. Pain clouded Brittany's eyes. Pain, confusion, and sincerity. She came to apologize. Guilt flooded through her. She fell into Brittany's oceanic eyes.

"Brittany, I'm so sorry," she said quickly.

Brittany was really confused now. She thought she was the one who did something wrong.

"Sorry for what?"

"Sorry for being such a bitch to Artie."

"It's alright," Brittany said quietly, still confused. Santana had apologized for that yesterday. That couldn't be what was bothering her. Brittany opened her mouth to speak, but Santana turned on her heel sharply and walked away.

An apology wasn't good enough – especially not that lame apology – but it was the best Santana could do right now. Maybe that was best. If Santana let Brittany have Artie and stay out of her life. The only problem was, Santana couldn't do it. She lived on Brittany's happiness. Seeing Brittany's face light up with her adorable smile was the best part of her day. Brittany was the only thing that kept her from killing anyone or anything that bothered her even the slightest bit.

Brittany watched Santana leave and dropped her head. She trudged back to Artie, Tina, and Mike through the snow. She saw Artie looking at her with that look on his face and she felt a little better. She knew Artie would understand. He always did. He was the best boyfriend ever. And Santana was the best friend ever. Brittany wished that she could have both of them at the same time.

Artie saw Brittany walk back towards him, Tina, and Mike, and gave her a smile. She smiled back and sat on his lap. He wrapped his arms around her and comforted her gently, whispering words of love and encouragement. Brittany turned her head towards him and kissed him gently. It was more of a 'thank you' kiss than an 'I love you' kiss. Artie wondered whether him or Santana was the friend in this love triangle.

After Santana had stormed away, she had gone straight to Quinn. She had to let out some of the pent up frustration that she had accumulated over the past two days and Quinn was a great listener.

Quinn saw Santana heading towards her locker and turned to her understandingly. She wondered what had happened now.

"I apologized," Santana stated, a catch in her voice. Quinn gave her a strange look of confusion and Santana shook her head tiredly.

"And…?" Quinn prompted quietly. She really didn't know what was wrong with a simple apology. Maybe Brittany hadn't accepted it? Besides, what exactly did Santana apologize for?

"And she was the sweetest thing, as usual, and I didn't even apologize for the right thing. God I feel like such a bitch." Quinn nodded, understanding, but she was still a bit surprised. Santana did bitchy, annoyed, whiney, and angry, but not guilty. Brittany brought out a part of Santana that Quinn liked. She liked both parts of Santana, but she had to admit that Brittany's Santana was just a bit better. Even if Quinn rarely got to see her.

Santana didn't know what to do. She voiced this to Quinn.

"I don't know what to do." Quinn sighed. It seemed like Brittany didn't even realize what effect she had on Santana.

"Why don't you talk about it to her?" Santana shook her head.

"No, I don't want to confuse her more. You know how upset she gets when she doesn't understand things." Quinn nodded. Santana seemed like a prickly person, but she cared about Brittany so much. Quinn knew all of the little things Santana did to protect Brittany and keep the Dutch girl's world sunny and perfect.

Santana saw Brittany walking inside from the corner of her eye and sighed. She didn't know whether she should avoid Brittany or pretend that everything was okay between them.

Quinn saw Santana take a quick look at Brittany and Quinn gently pushed her towards the other girl.

"Go." When Santana objected, Quinn spoke gently. "You know you want to." Santana sighed and gave in. Quinn knew her too well.

Brittany saw Santana coming towards her and she smiled. She still wasn't really sure what was going on, but she knew that something was wrong. And it was probably her fault. When Santana arrived, she gently reached out to touch her friend's hand.

Brittany touched Santana's fingers softly and she took Brittany's hand, smiling back at her. Brittany was just so damn kind. Santana wasn't sure what she planned on saying to the blonde, but she knew she had to fix their relationship. Even if she wasn't totally sure what kind of relationship they shared.

"Britt," Santana started. Brittany nodded.

"Yeah San?" Santana opened her mouth to speak again, but was interrupted by a freshman football jock.

"Retard," he said loudly to Brittany's face. Brittany's eyes grew wide. She hated that word.

Joe sniggered and turned to his friend, Steve, a sophomore on the varsity team. He expected to see a grin or some approval of his making fun of a glee loser, but instead saw utter horror.

Time froze for Santana. She took in Brittany's shocked expression, the hurt behind her aquatic eyes, and her watery, tear-filled gaze. Her attention turned to the freshman. One of the meatheads that was big enough to make varsity. The team that Finn and Puck were co-captains of. The team that Santana had almost total influence over due to her connections. The team that was about to be one player short.

"What did you say?" she hissed venomously once time unfroze. The jock seemed to realize for the first time that he had done something wrong and he looked to the left and right nervously.

Puck saw Joe walk by Brittany and call her that word. The word that Santana never tolerated. He hated when people called Brittany that too, but Santana liked to dish out punishment on her own. He knew how much Brittany meant to her. Anyways, why were these freshman guys so stupid? He nudged Finn and Matt, motioning towards Santana, Joe, and Brittany. Finn nodded with understanding.

Brittany saw Santana turn into the Santana that slashed people with her vicious words. She reached a hand out to Santana and touched her gently on the shoulder.

"San it's okay," she said softly. Santana turned to her, rage in her eyes.

"No, Britt. It's not okay." Her voice was deadly quiet.

Puck had sent Matt down the hall for slushies when he sensed the problem. Now he returned with three slushies, handing one to Finn and one to Puck. Puck watched grimly, waiting for Santana to finish. He knew Finn and Matt were doing the same. People were starting to crowd around.

Santana took a step towards the jock, her eyes narrowed. The jock took a wary step back. Santana caught Puck's eye, seeing the slushie in his hand. She turned back to the jock whose eyes were wide.

"W-what are you doing?" he asked her.

Even Puck winced at Santana's next words.

"Shut up. From now on, if you see me and Britt coming down the hall, you move your fat ass out of the way. It's not Brittany's fault you have no friends. It's not Brittany's fault that you look like a pizza addict who's had one too many back-alley liposuctions. And it's not Brittany's fault that even _the Michelin Man_ thinks you could lose some weight. As of now, you're bottom rung. Lower than Jewfro and Man-Hands. Leave Britt the fuck alone you douche bag. You don't even deserve to _look_ at her, much less speak to her." Santana turned to Puck, Matt, and Finn, her eyes still cold with rage. "Get Lardballs McChubbster out of my way afores I _ends_ him."

Puck nodded and him, Finn, and Matt dumped their slushies on Joe. Then they hauled him to the bathroom for swirlies before he got tossed in the dumpster. He didn't even resist. Santana's words had pierced him and punctured his ego like balloon. Puck had to get Santana to teach him how to do that.

Brittany saw Santana tear the football player apart with her words. There had been such meanness that Brittany couldn't believe it was Santana.

Santana turned back to Brittany, an apology for the jock's idiocy on her lips, but Brittany threw her arms around her and hugged her tightly. Santana held the blonde in her arms tenderly, running her fingers through Britt's hair and comforting her.

Santana smelled like cinnamon, coffee, and expensive perfume. It was Brittany's favorite smell in the world. She knew Santana would be there for her always, and that made all the teasing okay.

Artie rolled around the corner to see Santana and Brittany holding each other tightly, like nothing else in the world mattered. Artie knew that he and Brittany had never been like that, but it was alright. Artie was beginning to realize that, if he truly loved Brittany, he would let her be free to go to Santana.

Brittany pulled away from her best friend and Santana held out her pinky. Brittany took it, giggling, and Santana led her towards her locker.

Santana took Brittany to her locker so that she could open it for her. Brittany waited while Santana spun the lock.

"Thanks San," Brittany said, peering into her locker. "Um…"

"English." Brittany nodded, pulling out her books for English. Santana sighed affectionately at her. "Then math," Santana reminded Brittany gently. Brittany rolled her eyes playfully, her math books already in her hands.

"I know that one, Sanny! I have that class with you." Brittany didn't understand numbers. Santana always made her math class more fun, though. Santana smiled at her gently. It was the smile that only Brittany's Santana smiled.

Everything about Brittany just said 'love me because I love everyone and everything that moves or doesn't move'. She was just a ball of sunshine and Santana wouldn't, _couldn't_, let her go. Santana heard the bell ring faintly, but she was lost in Brittanyland. A magical place where rainbows, unicorns, ducks, and fat cats like Lord Tubbington all lived in harmony. A place where the sun shone all of the time.

Rolling over to where Santana and Brittany stood, Artie couldn't help but notice the loving look on Santana's face. She looked open and… _happy_. This was a different Santana than who she chose to show everyone.

"Hey Brittany," he said. Santana's features quickly rearranged into a scowl as she turned to face Artie. Artie couldn't help but smile a little bit at her sudden shift. Brittany smiled at him happily.

"Hi Artie!" Brittany put her books in Artie's lap and started pushing him up the hall. This is how they went to English class every morning. She turned back to Santana, giving her a small smile.

Brittany pushed Artie down the hall and turned back towards Santana. Santana gave a feeble smile in return, then turned around to head towards her history class.


	6. I'll Protect You Forever

Santana was walking by the locker rooms to get her Cheerios duffel bag (she'd left it at school in her haste to escape Brittany and Artie's PDA) when she heard the noises. It sounded like some sort of scuffling. Then she heard a grunt.

"Not so big without your girlfriend around are you?" she heard a voice say. Santana had heard that voice before. It was… Joe. That jerk that had called Brittany a retard. She was surprised that he'd even come back to school.

"What, _retard?_" Joe's voice rang out scathingly. Santana was getting slightly suspicious, so she started to head into the locker room. Then she heard something else. A gasp. Santana knew that voice so well. She began to run.

"Please," the voice pleaded. Santana ran faster, trying to find the source of the noise in the twisting labyrinth of the locker room. She heard footsteps. Then a loud noise. It sounded like a slap. Santana ran faster.

Brittany was confused. She'd gone back to the locker room after Santana had left because she thought she'd left her binder in there. Then that big guy that had picked on her suddenly appeared out of nowhere and now he was walking towards her with this creepy look on his face. She was scared.

"Not so big without your girlfriend around are you?" he'd said. Then he'd started to… _touch_ her. She didn't like the way his hands felt on her skin. They were rough and sweaty and gross. He had grabbed her and forced his lips against hers, rubbing his hand across her face. _Caressing _her. She'd pushed him away and he'd chuckled.

"What, _retard?_" he'd asked meanly. She didn't like that word. Then he'd bit her. On the neck. It hurt, and she'd gasped.

"Please," she'd begged. She wanted him to stop. She didn't understand why he was mean to her, then kissed her, then was mean again, then _bit_ her. Then he slapped her hard across the face. It hurt and confused her more.

"C'mere," he grunted. Then he shoved her against the lockers roughly, making her squeal. The lockers were cold. And it hurt. And he was holding her arms too tight. And she was probably going to have bruises tomorrow that she couldn't hide with her short Cheerios uniform.

"Bitch," he growled, pulling up her Cheerios skirt and unzipping his pants. Brittany paled. What was going on? Was he… Her heart stopped for a second. Then pain exploded in her body. He'd just shoved himself in and it hurt so much.

"San!" she cried out automatically. Even though she was going out with Artie, Santana's name was the first one that came to mind.

Santana heard Brittany shriek her name and screamed back, sprinting,

"Brittany!" She was terrified for Brittany. She had no idea where she was in this stupid maze of lockers. Frustration was getting the better of her as she continually came to dead ends and had to turn back.

"No," Brittany sobbed, broken. He was hurting her and hitting her and holding her neck. She couldn't breathe. He was squeezing too tight. At the same time, he was thrusting into her so roughly that she felt like she was bleeding.

"Get the fuck off of her!" Santana screeched, hurling herself at that… that… she couldn't think of words to express her anger. _No one_ hurt Brittany and got away with it. And this was way over the line.

"What the-" he stuttered, seeing Santana flying at him.

Santana knocked the wind out of him with a punch in the gut while simultaneously kicking him in his exposed (gross) balls. She was about to beat his ass again when she realized what had happened and her heart stopped beating. She froze – a frozen ice bitch. Before, she had thought that he was just beating Brittany up (which was bad enough), but the evidence showed otherwise.

Brittany saw Santana come and save her. She had attacked Joe and made him stop hurting her. She was still hurting all over and scared, so she had curled up on the floor in a ball and waited, tears still coursing down her cheeks.

Santana screamed in rage and threw herself at Joe with renewed vigor and rage. He'd… he'd fucking _raped_ her. That was beyond… anything. How could anyone do that to sweet, precious, adorable Brittany? She snarled and clawed at his face, creating bloody furrows and shrieking at him in Spanish and English.

"Fuck you! Fuck you! ¡Cabron! Die! ¡Chíngate! Goddammit, fuck you!" Then she brought her foot down on his balls so hard he started crying. He fucking deserved it. That bastard hurt Brittany.

"San," the sound of Brittany's voice, broken and small, instantly snapped Santana out of her rampage.

"Britt," she whispered, flying to her best friend's side. She put her arms around the fragile blonde, holding her tightly to her chest as if at any moment she might fall apart. She looked so scared and damaged. Santana felt a whole new wave of anger wash over her towards the stupid moron who had done this to her. Then Brittany sniffled again and Santana's fury totally disappeared.

Brittany whimpered against Santana's chest.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. Santana's chest tightened.

"It's not your fault at all. Never say that." Brittany shook her head weakly, clutching onto Santana's shirt.

"You're going to get in trouble now because of me." Santana held Brittany tighter. Hearing the Dutch girl say those words made her heart break a little. She looked so tiny and terrified.

"Britt, I promise that it's not your fault."

"Are you angry?" Brittany didn't want Santana to be angry.

"No, of course I'm not angry. It's that jerk's fault, not yours. I'll get him locked up. He'll never bother you again."

"If you don't want to be friends with me anymore-"

"Britt!" Santana gasped, shocked. "Of course I still want to be friends with you! We're best friends forever. I'd never leave you."

"Thanks Sanny," Brittany sighed, curling up into a ball again. Santana was the bestest best friend ever.

Santana looked down at Brittany, seemingly content in her arms. The blonde had her eyes closed and her blonde hair fell around her face. She looked like an angel. She was so freaking beautiful.

"Come on, Britt," Santana murmured, helping her friend up gently. "Let's take you home, alright?" Brittany shook her head. Santana raised an eyebrow. "You don't want to go home?"

"Can I sleep over?" Brittany asked instead. Santana smiled and nodded, linking arms with her best friend.

"Sure you can, Britt. I'll take you home right now." Brittany nodded and squeezed Santana's arm tighter. She was scared now. She definitely didn't want to be anywhere near the lockers.

Santana looked at Brittany fractured smile and hoped desperately that she'd be alright. Although Santana knew that Brittany didn't feel the same way, that didn't stop her from loving the blonde girl with all her being.

Santana pulled up to her house and looked over at Brittany. She was sitting in the passenger's seat, staring straight ahead. She had her arms crossed over her chest as if she were cold. She looked like she could fall apart at any moment. Santana hated that someone did that to her.

"Hold on, Britt," Santana said, stepping out of the car. Brittany nodded and opened the door, walking slowly to Santana's front door. Santana pulled her phone out of her pocket and dialed a number quickly. She waited as the phone rang a few times, then a calm voice came over the line.

"Hey Santana," Puck said.

"He… in the locker room… so mad… douche bag… that jock's at school, possibly still passed out… yeah," Brittany heard snatches of Santana's conversation, but she wasn't really listening. She was trying desperately to forget what had happened in the locker room and to rid her skin of that toxic feeling.

"What a fucker," Puck growled. Santana totally felt the same way.

"I know."

"How could… To Brittany?" Puck couldn't even finish his sentences. Even as he spoke, he was jumping in his car and heading towards the school.

"I know. So thanks for doing that for me," Santana said. She'd feel better knowing that Joe was getting his ass beat again.

"Yeah no problem. But how come you didn't just rip off his balls right then? I mean, after what he did to Brittany, I'd expect you to, you know…" Puck trailed off, not really wanting to think too much about the pain Santana could cause.

"I had to take care of her."

"Okay, I'll go over there right now."

"Okay, bye Puck." Santana hung up. Puck was like her best friend (besides Britt, but that was a totally different relationship). He was actually a really cool guy under the badass jerkiness and Santana knew he was practically the only guy in school who'd pass up a chance to get into Brittany's pants. He knew that the blonde was Santana's.

Brittany turned back, waiting for Santana. Was she talking to Puck? Puck was nice. He was Brittany's best guy friend. Kinda like a big brother.

Santana smiled at Brittany, who attempted a smile back. Santana was silent and stepped over to the Dutch girl, wrapping her arms around her.

"Can we go inside?" Brittany mumbled. "It's kind of cold." Santana nodded and took Brittany by the pinky. They walked through the doorway to find Mrs. Lopez reading a magazine and sitting on the couch.

"Oh, there you are Santana. Hello, Brittany," she said. Then her brow furrowed as she saw Brittany's tear stained cheeks. Brittany rarely cried. She shot a look at Santana who returned it with eyes that said, _I'll tell you later_.

Santana's mom nodded and looked back down to her magazine.

"Well, whenever you're hungry, I'll make dinner."

"Thanks Mom," Santana said and pulled Brittany upstairs to her bedroom.

Brittany loved Santana's mom. She was so nice and she always treated her like she was part of their family.

Once they were inside Santana's room with the door securely shut, tears began to stream down Brittany's cheeks once more. Santana's heart hurt every time she saw tears in those baby blues. She walked over to where Brittany sat on the edge of her bed and pulled the blonde into her arms.

"Shh," she murmured gently.

"I'm sorry," Brittany mumbled into Santana's chest. Santana held her friend tighter and ran her fingers through the girl's hair.

"It's not your fault, Britt."

"No, I'm sorry for being like this." Santana pulled Brittany away from her and turned the Dutch girl's head so she was looking into her eyes.

"Britt," Santana said firmly. "Please don't apologize. You have every right to be like this and more if you need to. That jackass is going to jail. Promise."

Brittany curled into Santana's arms once more. She was just so scared.

Santana felt her phone vibrate in her pocket and she pulled it out, glancing at the screen before opening it.

"Yeah?"

"Got him," Puck said, anger clear in his voice. "Motherfucker's gonna pay." Santana smiled softly. Puck was such a great friend.

"Then turn him in," Santana said.

Puck shut his phone and turned back to Joe, his fists clenched. He took a step forward and growled menacingly. _Deep breaths in, deep breaths out_, Puck thought to himself to keep him from killing Joe.

"Puck has him," Santana murmured in Brittany's ear. Brittany's nodded slowly and Santana wanted nothing more than to kiss away the tears lingering on Brittany's face, but she knew that that was totally wrong. If Brittany was happy with Artie, then Santana would let her be happy. She deserved it.

Santana smiled at her and Brittany felt a little bit better, just knowing that Santana was there for her. Then Santana brought her hands up and wiped Brittany's tears away gently with her fingers, and Brittany couldn't help but shudder away from her best friend's hands. It felt too much like when Joe had touched her face.

Santana felt Brittany flinch away from her fingertips and she held her tighter. If Brittany was scarred because of that fucker…

"Can we go to sleep?" Brittany asked quietly, snapping Santana out of her thoughts of murdering Joe. Santana nodded and Brittany crawled under the covers. Santana lay down on the other side of the bed, facing Brittany, which took an immense amount of self-control. She wasn't sure how close she could get to Brittany without crossing the friend line. However, Brittany made it clear that she was too far by whimpering and moving closer.

Brittany rested her head on Santana's collarbone and pressed herself against the Latina. She really needed to be close to someone right now.

Santana reflexively wrapped her arms around Brittany, pulling her closer. _ The fuck with boundaries. Brittany needs me_, Santana thought.

Brittany sniffled and curled tighter into Santana's arms. She felt her heart pounding, but for an entirely different reason than it had before. Santana's fingers were running through her hair soothingly, and they made Brittany feel exponentially better. Whatever exponentially meant.

Santana squeezed Brittany tighter and lay staring at the ceiling. She couldn't sleep. Not with Brittany here in her arms like this. It wasn't fair that she had all these feelings and Brittany didn't. It wasn't fair that the legless wonder got all of Brittany's love and affection. It wasn't fair that Santana head over heels for Brittany and the beautiful blonde had no idea.

"Te quiero. Te amo. Buenas noches querida." Santana murmured once she was sure that Brittany was sound asleep. Feeling slightly better once she'd let out some of her feelings, she drifted off to sleep.

Brittany heard Santana's soft voice and she felt her heart swell. She had no idea what those words meant, but just Santana's tone of voice made her heart flutter. _Why do I feel like this? _Brittany wondered. She made a mental note to ask Rachel or Mr. Schue what Santana meant.

"Goodnight San," she mumbled and began to fall asleep herself.

Santana heard Brittany mumble as she was losing consciousness and moved slightly to kiss the Dutch girl on the forehead. This action would be forgotten the next morning by both girls.


	7. King's Island

Santana woke up slowly the next morning. She felt a shape next to her and silently groaned. Who had she slept with this time? Then, she realized she was in her room. The next thing she realized was how familiar the shape curled into her body was. She realized how perfectly they fit together, like puzzle pieces. She loved the way their legs tangled together and the way their bodies were pressed flush against each other. She loved the way the blonde next to her smelled and the way her nose poked Santana's collarbone.

"No…" Brittany mumbled in her sleep, a troubled look flitting across her features. She pressed herself even closer to Santana. Santana's eyebrows knit together and she held Brittany as tightly as she could. She ran her fingers through the Dutch girl's hair soothingly. Brittany's face cleared back into her usual expression of peace and content.

"Britt, babe," Santana murmured. "Wake up." Brittany stirred slightly and nuzzled her nose against Santana's chest. Santana felt a surge of affection for her blonde friend. She ran her fingers through the blonde hair, marveling at its softness.

Brittany slowly blinked herself awake, feeling Santana's fingers weaving their way through her hair. She pressed herself closer to Santana, not wanting to lose the feeling of closeness.

"San?" Santana lifted her head to look down at the blonde girl.

"Yes Britt?"

"Did… did yesterday really happen?" Brittany asked quietly, horror in her eyes. Santana nodded slowly.

"Yeah. It did." Brittany's eyes were despondent. Santana hated seeing the blonde upset, but sad was much, much better than the ghostly emptiness she'd seen the night before. She shivered just thinking about it.

Brittany felt Santana's body quiver next to her and she pulled the Latina close. Brittany heard Santana sigh as she squeezed Brittany, bringing that flutter back.

"I hurt, San." Santana was instantly alert, pulling away from Brittany to take a look at her.

"Where does it hurt, babe?" Santana asked gently. Brittany pointed to her chest.

"I hurt inside, San." Santana's heart clenched painfully and she pulled the Dutch girl closer. She didn't deserve this. God, poor Brittany. Please let her make it through this unscarred.

Brittany lifted her eyes and looked into Santana's eyes again. She didn't want to go anywhere. She wanted to stay curled up in her best friend's arms all day long. Everything hurt too much.

_Bzzzzzz_.

Brittany's phone buzzed noisily on Santana's nightstand.

"I got it," Santana said softly. Then she reached over and grabbed Brittany's white iPhone, sliding her finger across the screen without checking the caller ID.

"Hello?" she said. Brittany saw Santana's expression change from the tender look she had been giving Brittany to an angry scowl. "No, she's not okay, you asshole!" Santana hissed into the phone.

"What happened?" Artie asked in that dumb voice of his. Santana could have screamed. He was such a horrible boyfriend. Why was Brittany with him?

"What happened? What fucking happened, _Stephen Hawking_, is that Britt got hurt last night and you weren't there to help her! What kind of excuse for a boyfriend are you if you can't keep you girlfriend safe?" Santana yelled at the stupid cripple. Her patience had dissipated long ago.

Santana's words both made Brittany feel fuzzy and guilty. Fuzzy because Santana was standing up for her and being protective, and guilty because Artie didn't really do anything wrong. She sat up and scooted across the bed over to where Santana was still spitting profanities into the receiver of her cell phone.

Santana was furious. She held the phone so tightly that her knuckles turned white, and she clenched her jaw.

"Yo, is she okay?" Artie asked. The 'yo' had just slipped out. He was genuinely exceedingly concerned for his girlfriend's safety.

"No she is not fucking okay you dumb-ass," Santana swore, infuriated.

"Calm down," Artie tried, hoping that Santana would stop yelling at him so early in the morning.

"I will not calm down!" Santana exploded. By that time, Brittany had settled herself behind Santana and she began playing with the Latina's hair.

"San," Brittany started softly.

"Brittany, it's not okay that he wasn't there for you," she muttered, her jaw set. She glared at the phone in her hand and considered throwing it at the wall.

Brittany caught the murderous look on Santana's face and placed a hand over the one holding the phone.

"It's not his fault. He didn't know. Don't get angry at him," Brittany said slowly. Santana looked up at the ceiling, exasperated.

"¡Chinga el Artie!" Santana spat. Brittany ran her fingers through Santana's hair, hoping to calm her down.

Santana sighed at the feeling of Brittany's slender fingers working their way through her thick, dark hair. She subconsciously leaned into the blonde's touch, and she felt her stress evaporating.

Brittany smiled softly at the sight of Santana relaxing. She leaned forward a little bit and wrapped her arms around the girl in front of her, pulling Santana close.

"It's gonna be okay, San. I'm okay," she said softly. Santana nodded slowly and closed her eyes.

A knock on Santana's door snapped the girls out of their reverie. It was Mrs. Lopez. She pulled the door open slowly and shot a worried glance over at Brittany.

"Are you okay, honey?" she asked quietly. Brittany nodded and stood up. Santana stood up as well. Mrs. Lopez sighed in relief. "Oh good, I hate seeing you cry Brittany."

Brittany smiled and ran her fingers through her hair wondering what she looked like. She was probably a mess.

Santana saw Brittany trying to fix her hair and she smiled. Brittany looked beautiful. She always did. Santana's heart clenched painfully and she couldn't breathe.

"Thanks for having me, Maria," Brittany said softly. Mrs. Lopez nodded.

"Anytime, Brittany. You know I love having you around." Santana watched as her mom turned around to leave, then turned around again, as if struck by a sudden idea. "Since it's Saturday, why don't you two drive down to King's Island?"

Brittany turned to Santana, her chest full of excitement. She couldn't wait to spend the whole day with her best friend.

Santana saw Brittany looking with those eyes full of hope, and she couldn't say no.

"Alright, we can go," Santana said. Brittany squealed and jumped into Santana's arms happily.

"I love King's Island!" Santana nodded and her heart soared. She would do anything to make Brittany happy. Santana's mom smiled and left the room, leaving the two girls alone to prepare for their big day of fun.

Brittany immediately headed for Santana's closet in the corner of her room. She knew she had a ton of clothes here from the countless sleepovers when she'd inevitably leave something behind. She quickly picked out a bikini, shorts, and a tank top. She started to change on the spot.

Santana gulped when she saw Brittany pull off her shirt. She wanted to look away, but she couldn't. Those freaking beautiful abs drew her eyes. When Brittany reached behind her and unclasped her bra, Santana tried really hard to keep herself from turning bright red. Deciding that it was impossible to keep her face from getting flushed, she quickly brushed by Brittany to get to her closet.

While Brittany pulled on her bikini top, Santana flew by her, almost knocking her over. Confused, Brittany turned around to see the closet door slamming shut.

"San?" she asked tentatively.

"Yeah Britt?" Santana's voice came out muffled through the closet door. Brittany reached for the door handle, then changed her mind.

"Nevermind!" she called, pulling her shorts over her bikini bottoms. She stared down at her legs sadly. They were covered with purple bruises and angry, red marks.

Santana quickly changed in the confines of her closet. _Calm the fuck down_, she thought to herself angrily. _It's just Brittany._ That didn't help. Taking a deep breath, she stepped out of her closet slowly and looked up at Brittany. Yeah, she totally got the metaphorical closet reference. It would be fricking _hilarious_ if it wasn't about her and her conflicted thoughts and emotions.

Brittany watched as Santana poked her head out of her closet door. Her eyes met Brittany's, then flitted back down to the floor.

"Ready to go?" Brittany asked, bubbly as ever. Santana nodded slowly, grabbing her phone from her backpack. She checked it quickly. It read: Puckasaurus(his idea): Text Message. She opened it.

**Joe's gonna bleed his ass out in juvie for a little. **She replied rapidly:

**Good. I hope someone pounds the shit out of him. **Then she shoved her phone in the back pocket of her shorts. She turned back to Brittany who was sitting on her bed. The blonde girl had a bright grin on her face. Santana's favorite sunglasses covered the Dutch girl's bright blue eyes. They looked so good on her.

"Yeah, let's go," Santana said, grinning. Brittany offered her pinky to Santana. Santana took it, her grin widening, and Brittany couldn't help but lean in and plant a quick kiss on her best friend's cheek.

Santana felt heat rise in her cheeks again. She turned sharply, hoping Brittany wouldn't see her flushed face, and she headed towards the kitchen.

"Brittz and I are gonna go," Santana said to her mom. Maria nodded as her gaze fell upon the girls' linked pinkies. A soft smile graced her lips and she looked back down to her newspaper.

"Have fun!"

"Bye Maria!" Brittany called as she stepped out of the Lopez household.

After two hours of driving, the two girls finally arrived at their destination: King's Island Amusement Park. It was the only cool amusement park in all of Ohio. Santana and Brittany used to come at least once a week back when they were younger, but when high school, boys, and social status took over, the pair never had time to go anymore. Santana smiled at all the memories from countless trips past.

Brittany was practically bouncing with excitement. She quickly took hold of Santana's wrist and rushed them over to the ticket booth.

_Shit,_ Santana thought. Tickets. She had forgotten. _How did we get in last time? I don't remember paying for tickets._ She mentally slapped herself. She should have remembered this. God, she was such a moron.

"Hey," Brittany's voice snapped Santana out of her thoughts. She knew that voice. It was Brittany's flirting voice. A wave of arousal shot through Santana's being, quickly followed by a wave of jealousy that the words were directed at someone else.

Brittany had walked up to the ticket booth where a nervous looking boy had sat. She recalled all of the times when her and Santana would get the ticket booth guys to let them in without paying. She figured that this time wasn't any different.

"So," Brittany said huskily. She ran her fingers through her blonde hair and flashed a smile at the boy behind the counter.

"Um," the boy gulped. "Can I help you?" Brittany bit her lip, then leaned in towards the boy, tilting her head seductively.

"Yeah, actually. You can. So, my friend and I really want to come in, and _talk_, but we can't." Santana watched the stupid boy get all of Brittany's attention. His chest was heaving and he was fidgeting nervously. She understood. Brittany was probably the most attractive girl he'd ever seen, much less had flirt with him.

"Why not?" the boy squeaked.

"Well," Brittany breathed, stepping even closer. Santana couldn't help but chuckle as the boy flushed pink behind his pasty, pimply face. "We don't have tickets. But I think you could make an exception for us, couldn't you?" At this point, Brittany was batting her eyelashes and tracing patterns on the poor boy's arm. For someone who looked so innocent, Brittany sure knew how to get someone hot under the collar.

"Uh yeah definitely!" the hormone-filled, pubescent boy stuttered. Brittany smiled brightly and kissed him on the cheek.

"Thanks!" she giggled. He turned ever redder and shakily handed over two tickets, plus speed passes. Christ. Brittany was so good at that.

Brittany quickly scribbled down some number that she wasn't even sure had the right number of digits on a piece of paper the ticket boy handed her. Shoving the slip of paper over the counter and flashing the boy a bright smile, Brittany grabbed Santana's hand, pulling her towards the gates.

Santana felt sparks explode from her hand where it touched Brittany's fingers. She followed her best friend excitedly, but not without shooting that damn ticket boy a murderous glare. To her satisfaction, the freak flinched away from her gaze.

"Come on San!" Brittany called back as she skipped towards the entrance. Santana laughed and followed her best friend.

Twenty-three rollercoasters, seven waterslides, and four bags of kettle corn later, Santana and Brittany lay out on their towels next to the pool. Every time a boy's gaze lingered too long on Brittany, Santana would shoot daggers at him until he walked away. She didn't need another boy stealing her best friend away.

Brittany leaned against Santana and reached over her, grabbing the bottle of sunscreen. Then she giggled and scooted a little closer, rubbing sunscreen into her best friend's sun-heated skin. She loved the way Santana's soft, smooth skin felt under her fingertips. Santana let out a low moan and Brittany couldn't help but laugh again.

Embarrassment flickered through Santana for a brief moment, then she remembered that no one was around and that it was just Britt. Brittany would never judge her. Brittany would never judge anyone. She was too damn sweet. That's why she was going out with that wheelchair kid.

Santana's hands clenched into fists and Brittany wondered why Santana was upset. She only tightened up her muscles like that when she was upset. Or when she was about to fight someone.

Santana felt the pressure on her back and shoulders increase until she was forced to relax. She sighed and enjoyed Brittany's gentle touch. She felt all of her stress melt away under her best friend's magical fingers. She imagined that Brittany was touching her like this because she loved her. She pretended that Brittany felt the same way that Santana did.

Brittany watched as Santana's eyelids fluttered shut again as her body went limp. She wondered what the Latina was thinking about. Brittany leaned over Santana, trying to get the sunscreen all over. Changing her mind, she swung her leg around and straddled the dark-skinned girl instead.

Santana felt Brittany's body pressed against hers, and she snapped out of her love-induced haze. She knew Brittany didn't feel the same way, and somehow it felt wrong for Santana to allow them to be in this position when she had these overwhelming feelings for her. Thinking this, Santana jolted upright, throwing Brittany off of her.

Brittany felt Santana rear up underneath her and she toppled backwards in surprise.

"Whoa!" a voice behind Brittany said, catching her as she fell backwards. Santana whipped around and shot a glare at the boy who held a startled Brittany in his arms. He was tall and tan with gleaming white teeth.

Brittany felt strong arms wrap securely around her, and she turned around inside of their embrace.

"Thanks!" Brittany chirped.

"The pleasure is mine," the dark boy said smoothly. "I'm Mateo. And you are?" Santana instantly hated him. He was so sleek and full of himself. He reminded her of herself. She stepped in front of Brittany protectively, pulling the boy's arms off of the beautiful Dutch girl.

Brittany giggled.

"I'm Brittany." The boy looked a little bit like Santana. He was cute. So was Santana. Speaking of Santana, the Latina in question's muscles were tensed up again.

"And I'm Santana," Santana said. She didn't like the predatory way this loser was staring at Brittany.

"Nice to meet you Santana," Mateo said just as silkily. Then he turned back to Brittany, smirking at her over Santana's shoulder. "So Brittany, do you have a boyfriend?"

Santana's jaw dropped. He just went straight for the kill, huh? She jutted her chin out at Mateo.

"Yeah she does."

"I'm sure she can answer for herself, Santana," Mateo chided condescendingly. "Is that right, Brittany?"

Brittany nodded.

"Yeah, his name's Artie, and he's in a wheelchair." Mateo stepped around Santana swiftly. Santana was about to push him away, but he stepped in between her and Brittany so quickly that she didn't have time to react.

"I don't mind if you don't," he said, his voice low. "I'm sure wheelchair boy doesn't get you off too often."


End file.
